Some bikes are just begging to be customized straight out of the factory. A good example of this is any bike in BMW’s Heritage lineup. For years, the BMW R nineT across all its variants has been the blank canvas for many artists to express themselves through a rolling piece of art. With the introduction of the R 18 in 2020, BMW released yet another bike that would become an instant hit in the custom world.
We’ve seen a lot of custom builds based on the R 18. However, none of them are quite like the latest masterpiece from Paul Yaffe, a renowned custom builder who’s been at it since 1991. Yaffe’s work has gained so much acclaim that he has received numerous accolades over the years, including being inducted into the Sturgis Hall of Fame in 2015. When Yaffe got his hands on the BMW R 18 Transcontinental, he made sure he knew the ins and outs of the bike. To do this, he rode it for 3,800 miles across the US, as well as an additional 2,600 miles to Sturgis and back.
